eploskunyak Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Will anyone venture forth with a review of the show? Word has it that 2011 will be the final "Serenade in Brass". Hate to lose such a great venue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzgok Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Will anyone venture forth with a review of the show? Word has it that 2011 will be the final "Serenade in Brass". Hate to lose such a great venue Unfortunately I missed a lot of the show. I saw the Bridgemen whobrought the house down, and then the Cabs Alumni who finished bringing down what was left after the Bridgemen were done. Yes, it appears that next years Serenade in Brass will retire after a 35 year run. I'm not happy about it, but not much can be done I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Word has it that 2011 will be the final "Serenade in Brass". Yes, that's correct. Larry Hershman made the announcement last night near the end of the show. I agree with you..... it will be tough to see this show end, even though I absolutely understand the reasons behind the decision. IMO, the Harrisburg show is one of the iconic annual events on the drum corps calendar. Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 (edited) Will do what I can. Missed several as well. Bucs Alumni, nice arrangement of Russian Christmas Music, solid run, nice to see them. Hip Pickles- More electronic than I've seen in the past, Those who like what they're up to will dig them plugged or unplugged. Crusaders of Boston- Nice Captain of Castille, of course, Conquest from the same movie- well done, rock hard. Park City Pride- A really nice look at the way things were done, Frank Dorritte loved hearing his arrangements played by them- I think that every year, they're really improving, more and more solid and strong. They're not afraid to play. Bridgemen were rock hard- First time I'd ever heard "Solero", a really solid chart. Spanish Dreams, Finished with a really nice rendition of their Classic "In the Stone"- just let the Baris get the melody out a bit more. Cabs Alumni as always, polished, professional, tight, great soloist moments from top-notch people, Larry K. did a fine job conducting, they were spot on. Worried I forgot someone, but dinner calls. Anyone want to discuss Swing House, Westshoremen Alumni, the Naval Academy, Yankee-Rebels, (Barb and John F. looked like a million bucks when I saw them before the show, always a pleasure too see them. ) and anyone else I missed, feel free, I missed them or accidentally omitted them, quite unintentional on my part. Also, Kudos to Moe Knox for getting an HoF membership, well-deserved. Moe has always been very, very good to me and to my mates when I marched, and when I judged. Always a privledge to talk to Moe. Also happy to see Steve Vickers from DCW come in for a visit. A good thing, a very good thing. Overall, a great evening with some fine performances, no one had anything to be ashamed of. Overall, if you were looking for a fun night with some fun old-schoolers letting loose for the love of it, a definite top box, even by Serenade standards. Big W Edited April 11, 2010 by BigW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Overall, if you were looking for a fun night with some fun old-schoolers letting loose for the love of it, a definite top box, even by Serenade standards. That sentence definitely sums up the evening!!!! Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 (edited) Overall, if you were looking for a fun night with some fun old-schoolers letting loose for the love of it, a definite top box, even by Serenade standards. Double post. Sorry. Edited April 11, 2010 by Fran Haring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossop Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Double post. Sorry. Marched in Boston Crusaders, so saw only the 3 corps following us. Was watching as a fan, not as a critic. Self evaluation, we were very pleased with our performance. Our best sop. soloist and 3 solid melophones couldn't make the show, but we are happy to have the depth and talent to still perform well. This may not have been true a few years ago. We thought our dynamics (which we really work on) were good, and both horn and drum lines were clean. We enjoyed the crowd response when our ballad, Time to Say Goodbye, ended with Conquest. Who said marches are passe'- the crowd loved our encore of El Capitan. Park City Pride- I always enjoy their routine of show tunes and patriotic music. Modern drum corps people who like sophisticated arrangements and "art forms" may not dig their show, but I certainly do. It's what the best drum corps of the early sixties sounded like. and of course, they have the "sex cymbals." Bridgemen- Always put on a highly entertaining show. My personal favorite tunes tonight were Bolero- different from Madison and Boston's arrangement- they make it their own. and I LOVED the Rainbow Connection which brought back memories of when my daughter and I used to sing it. William Tell and In the Stone were as strong as ever. Hawthorne was up to their usual excellence with Larry Kirschner doing a great job filling in for the recovering Jimmie Russo. Lonely Bull, MacArthur Park were my favorites for the evening. Horn line a little smaller than usual, but still large and powerful enough to knock you on your buttocks. At the post show party- Swing House performed. Everyone in my corps (the Boston Crusaders) was extremely impressed by this brass ensemble directed and orchestrated by Larry Kirschner. An All star line up of drum corps and band folks, most playing "G" horns, but some playing "B flats" and sounding great. Drummer on rap set was outstanding. Playing standard jazz pieces that you can name- the screamers sounded like Maynard Ferguson on steroids- and I mean this in a good way! I feel sorry for anyone who went to bed early and missed this show. Only down side of the event was the announcement that next year's show will be the last. The empty seats show a harsh reality. I'm hoping that next year's show will be such an overwhelming success, that Larry Hershman will reconsider. The Crusaders had a wonderful time, and don't want to see the fun end. Thank you, Larry, for having us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugleboy1048 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I will really miss the Serenade. It was a great opportunity to show my daughter what I did at her age. We loved every show, and I got to sit with someone who marched with me way back when. Louie B(Chocolatier) and I swapped stories waiting for the show to start. Earlier at the hotel, I also found a picture of me at a rehearsal somewhere? (I picked it up..priceless to me)Loved all the pictures and displays. I am planning on bringing my horn next year ( Larry saw me during the day, and wondered where it was) as I feel it would be something a Westshoreman would have to do. Oh yes, the show was excellent begining to end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I will add some observations about Serenade in Brass, but I won't be able to comment on the corps performances since I was a performer with the Boston Crusaders and only had the opportunity to see one corps performance (our own from the inside). First off, It was a great experience to be able to play in this iconic show at a great venue and before such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic crowd! I had the opportunity to attend the 2007 Serenade when I competed in the minicorps competition at the nearby Crown Plaza Hotel, but this was my first time up on the stage at the Forum Theater. One of the things which I especially enjoyed was the energetic ovation which we received at the end of "Man of Lamancha" from a group of young people sitting front and center. It is gratifying to feel that you are reaching a new audience. It really breathes new life into the old standards and is a great reaffirmation of the enduring appeal of classic drum corps. Thank you! Frank Dorritie, it was great talking with you once again. I always enjoy the depth and breadth of your knowledge of the activity. It was fascinating to hear about the history behind the development of the single horizontal valve bugle as a concealed technical advance which allowed the early legion drum corps to attain a competitive advantage over the valveless bugling drum corps during parade judging. We also marveled at the rare 2 horizontal valve bugle on display at the Westshoremen exhibit. Instantly recognizable to me from days gone by was the coveted orange American Legion national championship flag also on display. Steve Vickers, sorry that I missed you. I look forward to reading a review of the show soon in your excellent publication, Drum Corps World. Finally, yes it is sad and troubling to hear that next year's show will be the last due to declining attendance and financial losses. We, in the Boston Crusaders, look forward to making this a special finale. To me, this is an ominous sign of the contraction of the activity in terms of the numer of existing units and the numbers of new fans. As the alumni activity continues to age and the participants are dying off, it will be difficult for the activity to continue unless sufficient numbers of new members enter. Unfortunately as the numbers of competing units declines, so also does the most important source of new members for the alumni activity. Hopefully, the alumni activity will be compelling enough to non-drum corps musicians and marchers to ensure their desire to enter, continue the alumni movement, and preserve classic drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 the few corps I did get to see, I wasn't in a good place for which to review. as someone who has been at every Serenade in Brass...as a little kid watching his dad, a fan, a performer and instructor... my heart is breaking. In fact when it is not breaking, I am in denial. the high we had coming off of the stage, only to be told before the audience was....well....crushing. Oh I understand why. But it sucks. It was my opening day, my favorite day of the year, since I was 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.